I'm new at fly fishing, and with so many choices it gets a little confusing. :Eyecrazy: I got a 6 wt. rod because I'll be using it for panfish and bass as well as trout. So any help to get started with for trout, panfish, and bass would be great! Thanks!

teflon_jones

12-11-2005 12:48 PM

Welcome to fly fishing, and welcome to the forum! :)

I'll start out with a basic fly you can use for pretty much any species: The woolly bugger. It comes in many variations of colors and sizes, and also weighted and unweighted. The most popular colors are probably black and green. It's a great fly for a beginner to use since there's not too much you need to know about fishing it. You can dead drift it in a stream for trout, or fish it like a minnow, or pretty much any way you want.

In addition to the woolly bugger, here's a few species-specific flies. For bass, large poppers and Dahlberg divers are the two great flies to use. For panfish, the small poppers or any sort of small, bright wet fly will work. Panfish aren't picky at all! For trout, the variations of flies are huge and vary a lot depending on what time of year it is, what sort of water you're fishing, and where you are in the country. Your best bet for trout flies is to find a local fly fishing shop and ask them, or maybe there's somebody on the board from your area that can help. The flies I use here in the Northeast will differ greatly from what you'll use in Georgia!

whippersnapper

12-12-2005 08:41 PM

Thanks for the information. Good to be steered in the right direction.

juro

12-13-2005 11:42 AM

Once you have fished the bugger for a while and if you notice that trout are ingoring you, open the door to the world of entomology as it relates to the trout's habits. I have a commitment to study this more as the years progress despite my affliction with brawny saltwater species and drag peeling salmonids.

Each area has it's own fisheries - stillwater, streams or large rivers and each of these will call for it's own exploratory path.

Streamers, dries, emergers, nymphs, terrestrials - just the tip of the iceberg, a lifetime's worth of discovery. Not to mention these skills will reward you if you visit the great trout waters of our nation in the east - Vermont, Catskill Mtns, Northern New England; or the Arkansas which is producing an amazing trout fishery (just ask John Wilson) or of course Montana, Idaho, Colorado, etc.

T.J.

12-14-2005 03:52 PM

for bass and pan fish. Poppers work really well. And its a blast to fish them.